Inaccurate Range Stressed New Owner

[AlexHung]

It’s not just the SoC that affects regen. Battery temperature also will affect if regen is available. I have plenty of times when regen became unavailable even though SoC is less than 70% while going down a mountain.

 

[FinalAsgard]

In your case, I’d probably limit it to 80% and see how that goes. Maybe 70% given that you’ll be regening almost immediately.

That would give me less power to get back up the mountain though. It isn't like I get free power and can just coast down the mountain to charge the battery. If I don't give it some juice then the car doesn't move. I took a test drive that allowed me to drive up and down the mountain once. The car used about 0.6 to 0.7 miles of range per mile driven, at highway speeds. So I still got to the bottom of the mountain with less power than I started with.

 

[AlexHung]

That would give me less power to get back up the mountain though. It isn't like I get free power and can just coast down the mountain to charge the battery. If I don't give it some juice then the car doesn't move. I took a test drive that allowed me to drive up and down the mountain once. The car used about 0.6 to 0.7 miles of range per mile driven, at highway speeds. So I still got to the bottom of the mountain with less power than I started with.

It depends on how long and steep the hill is. The mountain I need to drive over to get to valley is high enough that I can use zero battery from the top to bottom, traveling between 40-60 mph (the road is pretty twisty).

 

[Mrbrock]

And a lot of times you have limited regen on steeper downhill sections. I worked at 1700 ft for the first year I owned the car. Made the 40+ mile round trip 5 days a week for pretty much the entire time. Lifetime average consumption is 237wh/mi so it averages out in the end but you don’t gain as much as you think downhill. And I rarely saw more than “regen limited“ for about 1500 of the 1650 ft descent. I usually made 1-2% total even if charging to only 80% or 70% so I just set it at 90% and went about normal life. Work was paying for charging so who cares if I lose a percent or two?

 

[Mrbrock]

Here’s some teslafi data of a 25 mile commute with 1000ft elevation change. And a 3.5mi lunch trek That covers 3/4 of the elevation change.

 

[Stacyopolis]

Had a horrible road trip experience and need some feedback.... I fully charged my Model Y overnight and had a starting range of 310 miles. My road trip destination was 105 miles from my house (highway driving). On the drive there I noticed I was burning through miles much faster than the range estimate. I was driving ~75 mph, had the AC on a fan speed of 3-4, was streaming Disney tunes for my kids, and was using cruise control. When I arrived at my destination I had ~120 miles remaining which is ridiculous (~190 mi consumed, ~105 mi driven).

The road trip was to a drive through animal safari with my kids that was in the middle of nowhere (north of Bryan / College Station). There were no Tesla Superchargers within 60 miles from my location and I was freaking out. I found a destination charger at an Embassy Suites 30 mi away in College Station and drove there to charge (only charged @ 30 miles per hour of charge). After about 90 min of charging I had a range of ~150 miles and decided to drive to nearest Supercharging station which was 47 miles away in Huntsville TX. I drove there slowly (65 mph max) and did not use the AC. I made it to the Supercharger safely and didnt burn through as many miles on this segment. I charged up at the Supercharger to a range of 200 and then drove 75 miles back home to Houston.

This stressful experience ruined our day trip plans. Any idea why I burned through my charge so quickly?? With a range of 310 miles I should have been able to make the round trip with some extra stops without having to charge.... what am I missing??

My delivery is later this month and this IS good to know!!!

 

[Madsen203]

Drive slower. 65-70 will get you there in nearly the same time. You should easily see 240 miles of range and would have completed your trip without wasting time hunting down chargers. There’s a screen that shows you instant efficiency and remaining miles left for reference. I drove 65-70 through hilly terrain and averaged 245wh/mi

 

[Mrbrock]

Drive slower. 65-70 will get you there in nearly the same time. You should easily see 240 miles of range and would have completed your trip without wasting time hunting down chargers. There’s a screen that shows you instant efficiency and remaining miles left for reference. I drove 65-70 through hilly terrain and averaged 245wh/mi

I agree with this for the most part but only if you have charging at your destination and the time to fully charge overnight. If you don’t, then driving faster and charging from 10-50% is actually faster than driving slower and charging more due to the taper of charging speeds at higher SOC.

In this case, the difference between 200 miles at 75 and 200 at 65 is 24 minutes. And likely 40-50 miles extra range.

 

[DanDi58]

That would give me less power to get back up the mountain though. It isn't like I get free power and can just coast down the mountain to charge the battery. If I don't give it some juice then the car doesn't move. I took a test drive that allowed me to drive up and down the mountain once. The car used about 0.6 to 0.7 miles of range per mile driven, at highway speeds. So I still got to the bottom of the mountain with less power than I started with.

Well, my point was that you need to have a decent amount of space in the battery in order to regen. Over 95% you regen is limited so my suggestion is to start with 70% and work your way back up to starting point that gives you a good balance on getting regen and being comfortable with the range.

 

[mark95476]

I posted this before. Mt Hamilton is the highest peak in the Silicon Valley area. It's about 4000ft top to bottom over 19 miles with two false summits. The grade is relatively mild.

~87 miles @ 231 Wh/mi average after going up and down. I think I got 5% back in regen going down.

 

[Mrbrock]

Well, my point was that you need to have a decent amount of space in the battery in order to regen. Over 95% you regen is limited so my suggestion is to start with 70% and work your way back up to starting point that gives you a good balance on getting regen and being comfortable with the range.

Once the slope is above a certain point you get limited regen regardless of whether you are at 10% or 90%. Likely something to do with generating too much regen and associated heat so it limits it. I got the message everyday whether I was charged to 90 or at 60. I would pick up 2% on my 1800ft descent over 5 miles.

 

[TomServo]

UP and DOWN Pikes Peak in a Model S.

 

[WhiteWi]

I used to go to Virginia beach each summer as a teenager for vacation. Always drove it in 1 stretch of 13hrs except for 5 minute gas/pee stops. Would do the same today except the pee stops would be more frequent, bunch of wimps stopping every 2 hrs.

Sorry not so wimpy guy but some of us have kids that go crazy after 2.5 hours of driving. And with age I do agree that my body refuses to sit in one spot for more than 2 hours at the time.

 

[WhiteWi]

Superchargers spaced around 150 miles which is plenty to drive any way you want if you willing to spend more time at the charger.

 

[Pianewman]

I love all the chatter about "range anxiety." It's...simply...not...an...issue for a Tesla, with Superchargers spaced every 80-150 miles. If you're travelling where there AREN'T Superchargers, don't buy a Tesla, or, ANY EV.

 

[jcanoe]

This owner drive their Standard Range Model Y from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Boulder, Colorado. The trip took 3 days. According to the author, "Kansas is hairy." You can read about the road trip here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/o0uyd8

 

[MorrisonHiker]

This owner drive their Standard Range Model Y from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Boulder, Colorado. The trip took 3 days. According to the author, "Kansas is hairy." You can read about the road trip here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/o0uyd8

Sounds like the driver made a few mistakes and didn't check ABRP or Plugshare before departing on their trip. Kansas is no problem when driving east and now that they have both Colby and Goodland, it's not too difficult to drive west either. However, there are some long stretches if traveling off the interstate and of course they don't have Superchargers "every 30 miles" like NC.

 

[Mrbrock]

Also, if the car says it’s safe to resume your trip and you get to the next stop with 5 miles left and that isn’t comfortable to you, charge longer. If you aren’t in a hurry, add an extra 5-10 minutes for additional buffer. It’s your fault if you run out because you were trusting a car to be that exact. If you charge to 100% and end with 5 miles then you are in a pretty desolate location and should plan an alternate route if possible.

 

[drtimhill]

That would give me less power to get back up the mountain though. It isn't like I get free power and can just coast down the mountain to charge the battery. If I don't give it some juice then the car doesn't move. I took a test drive that allowed me to drive up and down the mountain once. The car used about 0.6 to 0.7 miles of range per mile driven, at highway speeds. So I still got to the bottom of the mountain with less power than I started with.

If you got to the bottom of the mountain with more power (actually, energy is what you mean) than you started with, then you would have a perpetual motion machine, and Tesla would be a very wealthy company indeed (and would have re-written the basic laws of physics)!

As you note, there are always losses, and even going down a mountain coasting the car is using some energy to run the various systems. But it will recover enough to make the delta between mileage on flat roads vs mileage on up/down drives much less than an ICE car, where all the potential energy you have at the top of a hill gets converted into waste heat in the brakes and/or transmission.

 

[FinalAsgard]

If you got to the bottom of the mountain with more power (actually, energy is what you mean) than you started with, then you would have a perpetual motion machine, and Tesla would be a very wealthy company indeed (and would have re-written the basic laws of physics)!

As you note, there are always losses, and even going down a mountain coasting the car is using some energy to run the various systems. But it will recover enough to make the delta between mileage on flat roads vs mileage on up/down drives much less than an ICE car, where all the potential energy you have at the top of a hill gets converted into waste heat in the brakes and/or transmission.

Yes, I was just saying that to point out why I think only charging to 70% would not be a good idea. I think 90% (maybe 85...) should still allow for regenerative braking to work, while allowing me to maximize my range for the day. Especially in winter when I'm going to lose half my range.

As long as I have enough energy (thanks for that correction) to get to work and back, even on the cold days, and allow for some extra in case I have to run errands, I'll be fine. Hopefully I'll have at least enough to make it home with at least enough power to make it down the mountain again, in case we lose power at the house. We live in the mountains, crap like that happens from time to time.